Paul Bernard

Director, Alexa Fund at Amazon Alexa Fund · Joined 2015

View Live Interactive Profile →

Biography

Paul Bernard came to the Alexa Fund from senior roles at Intel and Amazon's own Alexa devices team, and has led the fund since its 2015 launch - making him one of the longest-tenured leaders in corporate venture capital. Operating the fund 'off the balance sheet' with no fixed size constraint, Bernard has grown its footprint from an initial $100 million commitment to roughly $200 million, backing more than 140 companies including ecobee, TrackR, and Ring, the smart doorbell company Amazon itself later acquired directly in 2018. Rather than chasing pure financial exits, Bernard has described the fund's real goal as identifying startups building genuinely new experiences with Alexa or advancing voice technology broadly, and in 2025 he announced the fund's expansion into AI-enabled hardware and smart agents as large language models reshaped what's possible with ambient computing. He has been recognized on Global Venturing's Powerlist of top corporate venturing professionals in both 2023 and 2025.

Education

Previous Experience

Notable Investments

RingecobeeTrackRNinjaTech AIHedraArioHeyBoss AILabrador SystemsCognixionOrbital Systems

Career Timeline

2015
Launches and begins leading the Alexa Fund at its founding, with an initial $100 million commitment.
2017
Amazon commits an additional $100 million to the fund, bringing total capital to $200 million.
2018
Ring, an early Alexa Fund portfolio company, is acquired directly by Amazon.
2023
Named to Global Venturing's Powerlist as one of the world's leading corporate venturing professionals.
2025
Announces the fund's expansion into AI-enabled hardware and smart agents, broadening beyond its original voice-technology focus.

Sources & References

TechCrunch ↗Global Venturing Powerlist ↗